Racer Z Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 What did you do to your Z today? Did you drive it? Did you work on it? Did you look at and wonder why you've ignored it for so long? The other night I drove over to another HybdridZ's house and bought an engine / tranny set. Chatted with him for hours about Z-cars and related stuff. The engine will sit in my truck until the weekend when I can get it out. Last weekend I went to the junkyard to look for brake parts from other cars to do a rear brake conversion. Found an early 300ZX with 4-bolt rotors to nab. Found a Mercedes Bendz E-body with calipers I liked. Got out of there for $70 to later find the calipers go for $200 each at the parts store. If the conversion works well with the stock front brakes on my 240Z I'll be smokin happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 I put my dash in the car last night, and today I am putting my interior back together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sito Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 (edited) I got some exhaust work done last week. PO ran 2.5 dp to full 3" straight pipe exhaust to a muffler... It was pretty awesome at full throttle, but it had a horrible drone/resonation at 2-3k rpm and smelled horrible. Also my girlfriends neighbors could hear me coming from 2 blocks away... I got a high flow cat and resonator welded in and had the exhaust tucked a bit. Sad part is with the added back pressure the car definitely feels a bit slower but my brain cells aren't dying by the minute and I'm not going deaf anymore either. All in all sacrifice a bit of speed for alot of comfort. Racer Z let us know how those calipers fit, and thats a steal for a brake set. OldAndy is that a mint condition original dash? It looks beautiful! I was thinking of buying a new dash as mine has quite a few cracks but when they're going for over $1k each I can't justify spending that on a dash. Especially when there are many other parts of my car that need the money and care. Edited April 24, 2012 by sito Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer Z Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Sad part is with the added back pressure the car definitely feels a bit slower but my brain cells aren't dying by the minute and I'm not going deaf anymore either.All in all sacrifice a bit of speed for alot of comfort. When you change the back pressure you need to re-tune the carb. Sometimes all it takes is a simple turn of an adjuster screw, sometimes the jets need to be changed. Once the carbs are tuned properly the difference should not be that noticeable. Racer Z let us know how those calipers fit, and thats a steal for a brake set. If they work well I will definitely post a "how I did it" thread. The Bendz calipers look slick enough. They're two piston fixed calipers without any P-brake stuff. They look just like the stock front Z calipers except tiny. I got new pads (OEM) at Pep Boys for $15.00 Porterfield racing pads will be about $75.00 instead of the almost $200 for their shoes. I have access to a machine shop so making my own brackets shouldn't be much of an obstacle. Sunday I was planning on working on one or both of our Z's, but my ugly old truck decided to act up again. One new distributor and a whole day later it runs better than it ever has. Maybe next weekend I can focus on a Z brake conversion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 When you change the back pressure you need to re-tune the carb. Sometimes all it takes is a simple turn of an adjuster screw, sometimes the jets need to be changed. Once the carbs are tuned properly the difference should not be that noticeable. His Z is EFI and turbocharged. A turbocharged car will feel the effects of increased exhaust backpressure more, but it should only be a couple of hp. But you bring up a good point. Sito, double-check your AFRs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 OldAndy is that a mint condition original dash? It looks beautiful! I was thinking of buying a new dash as mine has quite a few cracks but when they're going for over $1k each I can't justify spending that on a dash. Especially when there are many other parts of my car that need the money and care. Haha nope! it's got a half dash cover on it actually. I was just lucky and got one that fit pretty decent and wasn't all fugged up. I don't mind the covers as much as most of the Dudes and Dudetes here do. I have a nice mint dash still in my parts car that I intend on pulling soon to keep for either another car or making a mold for something cool and custom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sito Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 (edited) When you change the back pressure you need to re-tune the carb. Sometimes all it takes is a simple turn of an adjuster screw, sometimes the jets need to be changed. Once the carbs are tuned properly the difference should not be that noticeable. If they work well I will definitely post a "how I did it" thread. The Bendz calipers look slick enough. They're two piston fixed calipers without any P-brake stuff. They look just like the stock front Z calipers except tiny. I got new pads (OEM) at Pep Boys for $15.00 Porterfield racing pads will be about $75.00 instead of the almost $200 for their shoes. I have access to a machine shop so making my own brackets shouldn't be much of an obstacle. Sunday I was planning on working on one or both of our Z's, but my ugly old truck decided to act up again. One new distributor and a whole day later it runs better than it ever has. Maybe next weekend I can focus on a Z brake conversion. I'm running a l28et with megasquirt so no carb tuning here . I have to go into megasquirt and log/tune. Ugh I am SO bad at megasquirt though I'm like a fish out of the water... and I work in computers haha. His Z is EFI and turbocharged. A turbocharged car will feel the effects of increased exhaust backpressure more, but it should only be a couple of hp. But you bring up a good point. Sito, double-check your AFRs. Yeah Leon I've been checking my AFRs and they don't seem that far off from what I was running before, but you're right I need to datalog and retune. The thing with megasquirt is I'm a complete novice at it and I'm always afraid of screwing something up. The PO of the car did the megasquirt EFI. Edited April 25, 2012 by sito Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitsnaugle Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Fought the rust demons. Not sure I've won or lost yet :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Dash looks good andy. How do you like the half cap for the dash? I had bought the full cap and it didnt fit very well even with a lot of persuasion, I ended up ripping (literally) off. Seems like the half cap doesnt need as complex of curves so it can fit better. How well did it match up color wise? Also, what kind of seats? They look nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Dash looks good andy. How do you like the half cap for the dash? I had bought the full cap and it didnt fit very well even with a lot of persuasion, I ended up ripping (literally) off. Seems like the half cap doesnt need as complex of curves so it can fit better. How well did it match up color wise? Also, what kind of seats? They look nice. The dash cap, like you said, doesn't have to follow the complex curves of the bottom of the dash, so fitment is less of an issue than the full cap for sure. That being said I've seen some fugly fitting half dashes, the color, at least on mine (MSA model from 5 or so years ago) is a good match when all cleaned up. There are a couple spots that ill have to touch some heat to it for better fitment, mainly just the gauge surrounds (section in between the tach and speedo) . I originally bought the dash cover so I could paint my dash and use the cover for a clean two tone look. Ran that for a while, then decided on going back to black, I'm happy with how they fit. The seats are 200 dollar shipped eBay seats, I bought these 5 years ago as well. They used to "squish" but after some coaxing I've got the fitment dialed. Fully adjustable and super comfy. Best 200 bucks spent on the car to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sito Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 The dash cap, like you said, doesn't have to follow the complex curves of the bottom of the dash, so fitment is less of an issue than the full cap for sure. That being said I've seen some fugly fitting half dashes, the color, at least on mine (MSA model from 5 or so years ago) is a good match when all cleaned up. There are a couple spots that ill have to touch some heat to it for better fitment, mainly just the gauge surrounds (section in between the tach and speedo) . I originally bought the dash cover so I could paint my dash and use the cover for a clean two tone look. Ran that for a while, then decided on going back to black, I'm happy with how they fit. The seats are 200 dollar shipped eBay seats, I bought these 5 years ago as well. They used to "squish" but after some coaxing I've got the fitment dialed. Fully adjustable and super comfy. Best 200 bucks spent on the car to date. Hey Andy did you have to do any tunnel bashing to get those seats to fit? or were they bolt in? I know the Z's are very picky about which seats can fit without some modifications since their rails are not that far apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 I rotated my tires, at high speed. So far, I've driven it to meet someone, then to get lunch and now home, in a few minutes out to meet a friend. I <3 driving my Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer Z Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 Today I opened the package that came in the mail. In it was three used K&N filters to fit my Dell'Orto 45's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 (edited) Hey Andy did you have to do any tunnel bashing to get those seats to fit? or were they bolt in? I know the Z's are very picky about which seats can fit without some modifications since their rails are not that far apart. Nope, I didn't have to bash the transmission tunnel at all, I bolted the seats to a plate of steel and bolted the plate to the OEM seat mounting points, Had to redrill the holes, and done. I will say though that I still am tweaking my passenger side and I am prolly gonna redo that side. But as to the thread. Today I am wrestling my carbon fiber hood. I'm making new mounting brackets for it, and trying to make it work on the stock hinges. I'm hoping for a good fit. I'll prolly have to remove the center connecting rod springy guys to make the hood sit flush at the front, since the new hood weighs so little it cannot push the hinges entirely closed, so this creates the worst body gap known to man, so I'm going to be changing that. Hopefully I can get something accomplished and post some pictures of new fitment. EDIT: Got the brackets all made up and bolted on. The hood fits great with the test fit and still has some room for tweaking. I'm excited. Took out the spring bars like I said Cut the brackets off a old parts hood. Test fit, checking gaps I'll get better pictures when I have some day light. Edited April 29, 2012 by OldAndyAndTheSea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvin280zxt Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Was sick of working on my rusty dented taillight panel, so i sanded it all down and painted it flat black as per my semi temporary paint scheme, i am going to rock guard the area under it tomorrow as the plastic inner fender is not going back so my rbrs will fit alOng with rolled fenders etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sito Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 (edited) Who makes that cf hood and how much? Looks very very nice! Calvin: I really need to work on my taillight panel too, its very very faded from all the sun what did you use to sand it down? Edited April 30, 2012 by sito Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvin280zxt Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Well mine is very rusted and pitted, and it was rear ended by an f350 at like 1mph so i had to get it straight then start on rust. The whole left taillight was caved in. Im using an angle die grinder with 60 grit and a 4.5 inch grinder with a wire wheel on it treading softly so not to burn through the remaining metal. Now starting with short strand f/g filler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer Z Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 Today I (we) did a more extensive inspection of my (our) new 260Z. It's got some crash damage, the kind that's hidden behind 100 pounds of bondo and rattle can paint. The rust is, well, extensive and in some structural places. The brakes are weeping and the rear disk upgrade was installed, uhm, poorly. But poorly is how all of the car is too. The intake leaked so bad the car only ran at high RPM. Anti-freeze is leaking from the bell housing. So we started into fixing a few things. Mostly to see if we had a motor. Had to turn the manifold bolts three turns just to get them to snug. Got the intake/exhaust tight, cured a few vacuum leaks and she fired right up. I think the last time this poor car had a tune-up, Christ was a Corporal. Got some real nice readings from a leak-down and compression test. We got a motor. Yippi. Tranny and rear end seem good. Tightened the brake lines at the master and started gutting the interior. Took the car around the block and she seemed to drive OK until the throttle stuck. I was waiting for the steering wheel to fall off cause the nut is missing. What a heap. And we've got 15 working days do get her track ready for an event in September. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Thought about taking a hammer to the windshield, lighting it on fire and driving it off a bridge! Now, on the other hand, yesterday was good - I drove it an hour to a car show and enjoyed every minute of it. Too much time wrenchin' and not enough time drivin' this past year - I'm starting to act a little funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTHALOSISM Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) Not much done with my zed, I did put some old mail on top of it and blew off a layer or dust. Right now though I am contemplating cutting into my FG BRE rear spoiler to add an old Computer door light (silver circle with a silver Z and clear on the sides for an LED). That way I can just run a wire to the LED light and switch, it would be pretty cool to see at night. I'll take a pic of the part before I cut into the spoiler though, just to see what you guys think. Edited May 3, 2012 by GOTHALOSISM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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